Business & Bullion Weekend Report – Nov 15

Precious metals dropped for the week, as did stocks. London silver, gold and platinum fell 9.5 percent, 0.6 percent, and 3.4 percent respectively. The Dow declined 5.0 percent, the S&P lost 6.2 percent, and the Nasdaq dropped 7.9 percent from last Friday’s close.

New York December crude-oil settled to $57.05 a barrel, losing $1.30 on Friday. The good news for consumers is the average price for unleaded gasoline fell to $2.15 a gallon — a far cry from its $3.13 average just a month ago, according to AAA.

London silver ended at $9.33 an ounce, dropping 98 cents on the week, or 80 cents since last Friday.

London gold closed to $747.50 an ounce, falling just $4.25 for the week, or $12.25 from last Friday.

London platinum climbed to $845 an ounce, losing $30 for the week, or $4 since last Friday.

“The rest of the world didn’t fare very well this Friday, for sure. It did not take long after the German economy was declared to be in a recession, for the rest of the EU to have the same label applied to it as well. Like that came as a surprise to anyone. The surprise came later in the day, when Honk Kong’s economy also joined the growing list of countries in contraction mode.” added Nadler.

Gold, considered a hedge during times of high inflation and economic uncertainty, tends to follow oil and move opposite to the U.S. dollar. A rising greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities, like bullion, more expensive for holders of other world currencies. When prices are falling and economic activities are shrinking, gold prices tend to move lower.

Silver, gold and platinum performance charts and tables follow as well as a Reuters weekly business recap video and four related precious metal articles.

The London Fix is one of the most used bullion quotes around the world. The London AM fix for gold and platinum begins at 10:30am GMT (5:30am in New York), and the PM fix begins at 3pm GMT (10am in New York). The London Fix for silver begins each business day at 12pm GMT (7am in New York).